Jony: A Love Story

The End

Ashton slowly stalked out of the room, clearly unhappy that Tony showed up and ruined his moment with Jess. They had permission, and all he wanted was to discover her, everything about her, what her deepest secrets were, what she wanted for Christmas, her physical wants and needs, all of it. The scowl never left his grudging face as he sat down in the chair that was 2 feet away from the door to Jess' room. He had gotten so used to seeing her there, because he lied to the nurses and said that he was her brother, and when asked upon again during visiting hours today, he told the truth about being her boyfriend. He leaned in close to hear the conversation.

Tony spoke first, breaking the earsplitting silence. "You know that I care about you, right?" Jess simply looked him in the eyes and saw the genuine sorrow behind his hard features. She picked up the whiteboard reluctantly, writing as quickly as possible.

You know that I used to love you, right?

Tony's eyes welled up with tears, and as they began to overflow, he said, "I'm so sorry. I did- you didn't tell me you couldn't talk and it surprised me. I wasn't disgusted! I just didn't know, okay? I- I love you, too."

I said I used to love you. It doesn't matter now because you hurt me. When you left, I cried for hours, and you know who was there for me? Ashton was. HE loves me. YOU don't. Don't try and lie to me. Besides, you can't love someone back if they don't love you in the first place. Don't speak. Do you even know what love is?-- Answer me. Do. You. Know. What. Love. Is.?

The hurt shone in Tony's eyes as he replied, "Love is when you care more about your lover's safekeeping than you do your own. And I care, Jess. I just need you to love me back. I can't have these feelings and you not return them. I need you to love me." His voice was soft, and careful, as if he were tiptoeing through a pack of sleeping jaguars. Jess couldn't believe it. He was treating her like a child. Like he was coaxing her to go to sleep so that he could sneak away and leave her alone again. A choking pain squeezed her throat, and tears began to drain from her eyes silently.

I.. I loved you. You weren't there for me. And now you realize that you want me? That's not good enough. I'm sorry.

Jess swallowed another sob to keep Ashton from coming into the dreary hospital room. All of a sudden, she stood up, proud and tall, and strutted out of the room to see her boyfriend. All Tony said was, "Please." and Jess stopped dead in her tracks. She knew that tone, the tone of complete despair and hopelessness. It made her sympathetic for Tony, and she turned around, looking as kindly as she could.

"Don't leave me. Please. I- I really do love you. I don't want to force you into something that you don't want. And I know that Ashton wasn't your first choice. I was just hoping that your first choice was me. I didn't know. I thought that you liked Jake. Everytime he was around, you went all googly eyed and drooled just a little, and I thought it was so cute! I'm sorry that I didn't see it."

Jess wrote quick and small, so that Tony could see the pain in her heart.

I loved you. And I still do. But Ashton is my boyfriend now. You need to get over me. Besides, I know that Amanda totally has a crush on you.

"Jess, I don't want her. I want you. That's all I want. All I want is to discover you, everything about you. What your deepest secrets are, what you want for Christmas, your physical wants and needs, all of it. That's all I want. That's what I need. Jessica, please. Just give me a chance."

She looked down. Her entire life for the past year and a half flashed before her eyes. Images of Tony, Jess' family, and Ashton. When Jess looked back, she saw herself staring at Tony when he wasn't looking, and glaring at Ashton when he was. Her eyes dripped silent tears.

When she looked into Tony's eyes, he understood her message perfectly: I love you. I want you. Ashton is irrelevant, but I can't break his heart.

"Okay." he whispered, "meet me in the lobby at noon tomorrow. Make sure he's gone." Then he slowly slumped out of the room to convince Ashton that he was upset. As he walked out to the hallway, Ashton gave him an intense stare of pure hatred. Tony simply shed a tear and walked away, smiling once Ashton's back was turned.

The game was on, and Tony was determined to win.

The End.

**********Author's Note!***************

I'll be writing a sequel soon called Jeston!